News24 | Meet the teen who’s raised R10 000 selling grapes and refuses to lose his matric dream

While many matric pupils are counting down the days to the final school dance, 18-year-old Wellington matric pupil Miguel Hendricks has been working tirelessly to make sure he can afford to attend his.

Armed with determination, a warm smile and punnets of seedless grapes, the teenager has spent every day since February selling the fruit for R20 a punnet to raise money.

For Miguel, the event is more than just a glamorous evening of suits, photographs and celebration. It is the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice – and a milestone he is determined to experience without putting more financial strain on his mother.

Miguel is the youngest of four children of single mother Kollana Hendricks, who works on a farm to provide for her family. Like many parents, she dreams of giving her son everything he desires, but the rising cost of living and the financial pressures faced by farm workers have made that increasingly difficult.

Rather than watch his mother struggle to cover the costs of his matric farewell, Miguel made a decision that has inspired many in his community.

Every day after school and during his spare time, Miguel can be found selling grapes to residents and passers-by, carefully putting aside every rand he earns aside.

So far, the teen has raised more than R10 000, the bulk of which will go to shoes, suit hire, a car, and grooming.

He has also used some of it to contibute to his school fees and assist his family with food and electricity.

The family of six live in a two-bedroom home on a remote farm about 40 minutes from Wellington’s town centre.

“Life is not easy living on a farm, far away from everything and everyone. But I have been living here all my life, it’s safe, and I am used to being on my own and just with my family,” he said.

Miguel said he started selling fruit after a serious conversation with his mother and sister, Natiley, who told him they would try to give him a “nice send-off” but could not promise it would happen.

“I was never going to put pressure on my mother and sister because I know and could see that our home situation doesn’t allow us to spend money on unnecessary things. And so I decided that I would see how I can fund the ball myself,” Miguel told News24 outside his Wellington home.

He approached a local grape-packing company and explained that he wanted to sell fruit to raise money for his matric farewell.

The company’s owner then provided him with punnets that he could buy for R10 each – more than 80% below the normal selling price.

Miguel said he was grateful to the owners who understood his det